Corporation for Public Broadcasting Cuts Most Staff, Outlines Plans to Close After Congress Guts Funding

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) outlined plans to wind down operations on Friday (Aug. 1), including letting go of a majority of staff by the end of September after Congress approved President Donald Trump’s request to claw back funds earmarked for public broadcasting last month.

The U.S. House of Representatives voted to rescind $9 billion in federal funds, including $1.1 billion to the CPB, which it was due to receive from the federal government for its next two budget years through 2027.

“Despite the extraordinary efforts of millions of Americans who called, wrote, and petitioned Congress to preserve federal funding for CPB, we now face the difficult reality of closing our operations,” said CPB president/CEO Patricia Harrison in a statement. “CPB remains committed to fulfilling its fiduciary responsibilities and supporting our partners through this transition with transparency and care.”

Founded by Congress in 1967 as a private, nonprofit corporation, the CPB was tasked with distributing funds earmarked by the federal government to some 1,500 local public television and radio stations in the United States.

On Friday, the group said that most staff positions will be eliminated when the CPB’s fiscal year ends on Sept. 30, with the remaining staff kept on through January 2026 “to ensure a responsible and orderly closeout of operations,” according to the announcement. Those employees will see through final distributions to affiliate public radio and TV stations and ensure all legal compliance and long-term financial obligations are met, including “ensuring continuity for music rights and royalties that remain essential to the public media system.”

The elimination of funding puts the future of CPB-supported music programming like Austin City Limits (ACL), the longest-running music program in TV history, which is produced and owned by Austin’s local PBS station, in jeopardy. The station is expected to lose $3 million from the cuts, ACL’s executive producer Terry Lickona previously told Billboard.